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It takes a confident and caring person to question the most basic steps medical professionals take, from triple-checking medicine dosages to posing seemingly extreme hypothetical questions like: "If we had a helicopter and lots of spare fuel, would bi-weekly trips to New York City for chemotherapy treatment be superior to similar treatments in Kingston?"
Such pushy questions do not come naturally to me when my own health is at stake. I was raised in a polite land called Minnesota and - former Gov. Jessie Ventura notwithstanding - that state is so courteous and strange that people greet strangers on the street and (more often than not) even help push cars that become mired in snowdrifts.
But we don't easily seek therapy or ask for help, and are weirdly averse to eating the last slice of pizza in the box because it wouldn't be "nice."
Although I've learned to salt swearwords into my daily life, I still carry some of that residual "niceness" in my DNA. That has gotten in the way of my treatment, on occasion. Like when it never occurred to me to see whether it might be better if all my chemo treatments were administered at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
Fortunately, the friend who brought me to the New York consult a month ago, was comfortable asking that question three different ways (minus the helicopter version) earning a boatload of my gratitude.
Each time he asked the question, the slightly gruff doctor repeated the same reassuring answer. As long as my Kingston oncologist follows the regimen laid out by Memorial Sloan-Kettering, he said, there would be no appreciable difference in how my body would respond.
And I'd not have to spend more than four hours in traffic every two weeks, he added.
Although a startling array of generous people have offered to drive me to New York for any treatment or consults, I never posed the question because it seemed wrong to call in such favors more than occasionally.
Now that the question has been asked, I feel better about the care I'm receiving and I've no doubt those positive feelings are beneficial.
Although helicopter rides to New York City could help my attitude too, by giving me some boy-toy thrills, I'd feel bad about the carbon that would tax the world on my behalf.
Easing the burden of chemotherapy is vital, especially because patients may need some convincing to agree to ever-stronger doses of anti-cancer drugs in order to survive. I've downplayed some of the discomfort with friends and family, just as doctors seem to do routinely. There is an idea out there that if those undergoing chemo are told a regimen is relatively easy to tolerate, those cancer patients may make it past some of the body blows by sheer will and the application of upbeat aphorisms.
That only goes so far. Certainly when my head hits the pillow for a "quick nap" that lasts four hours, I know no positive mantras can substitute for sleep.
Just recently, I've employed more than a little Mountain Dew, corn syrup and all, to get me through the day.
The major source of my perkiness this week can be directly attributed to "The Case of the Spousal Advocate Who Countered the Error of the Excessive Decadron Dose." Decadron is an anti-nausea medicine normally given as part of some standard chemotherapy treatments. At the wrong dose, it has been known to cause wracking hiccups like those that laid me low during my initial treatment.
Still, after we'd been twice assured that I'd be switching to a lower dose to prevent hiccup redux almost two weeks ago, I came very close to a sequel. Thank goodness, my wife triple-checked the dose with a single pointed question.
It was awkward at first, but I credit her and the professionals who listened to her with lifting my spirits and my health.
This was a minor mistake in the larger scheme of things. I feel comfortable writing about it here now that I've chatted with my doctor about all the other ways he hopes I'll use this column to help improve the care for cancer patients and others.
My doctor told me that people at the top need to know that - for whatever reason - doctors and other health practitioners working in the trenches sometimes act arrogantly and treat patients with disrespect or a lack of concern that can be hurtful.
I am not a health professional myself, but I'm determined to do no harm, or at least as little as possible. Please note that while I'm probably benefiting from care prescribed in New York and applied in Kingston, that scenario may not work well for others who may need to get all their specialized care in Albany, Boston, New York or elsewhere.
Fortunately, there is good news for those who must make repeated or extended visits to places like Memorial Sloan-Kettering or to other major cancer centers. "My American Cancer Society" just sent me an e-mail about free transport options and free lodging near places like Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Want to learn more? E-mail the Cancer Society's Jennifer Coulombe at Jennifer.Coulombe@Cancer.org, or call (212) 237-3859.
Blaise Schweitzer is a Freeman reporter. Send him an e-mail to blasch@freemanonline.com. This series runs Sundays in the Life Section.
